Gillespie at his best as England crash in Headingley Ashes

Gillespie’s 7-37 in the fourth match of the 1997 Ashes helped Australia to victory by an innings and 61 runs and were the best figures by an Australian in a Headingley Test.

Gillespie’s analysis – achieved in only his eighth Test – remained the finest of a career that brought him 259 Test wickets at 26.13.

He captured 2-65 in the second innings to finish with nine wickets in the match – a haul he twice equalled but never surpassed in his 71 appearances.

Gillespie was 22 years old at the time of his man-of-the-match display at the historic Leeds venue.

He had first played Test cricket eight months earlier, in November, 1996, when he made his debut against the West Indies in Sydney.

As the great-grandson of a Kamilaroi warrior and the first acknowledged Aboriginal Test cricketer, Gillespie’s arrival on the scene had attracted great interest.

And it was in 1997 that he first sprang to prominence, following a promising tour of South Africa at the beginning of the year with some good performances against Mike Atherton’s England.

Gillespie played in four of the six Ashes Tests that summer as Australia won the series 3-2.

He made a low-key start in the first Test at Birmingham, taking 1-48 from 10 overs as England won by nine wickets on the back of a brilliant double century by Nasser Hussain, and did not play in the drawn second Test at Lord’s.

But Gillespie returned to take 3-31 in the second innings of the third Test at Old Trafford, which Australia won by 268 runs, and then helped Australia go 2-1 in front at Headingley.

He took his seven-wicket haul in the first innings in 13.4 overs as England collapsed in spectacular style.

There was no hint of the drama to come when Australia captain Mark Taylor won the toss on a green-looking pitch.

England made a reasonable start, reaching 106-3 in the 36 overs that were possible on the opening day as Atherton battled through to reach an unbeaten 34, Gillespie chipping in with the wicket of Alec Stewart.

But England crumbled on day two as Gillespie produced what Wisden termed “a spell of genuine speed and outstanding control”.

After removing nightwatchman Dean Headley and catching Atherton at long-leg off Glenn McGrath, he took the last five wickets (Graham Thorpe, John Crawley, Robert Croft, Darren Gough and Mike Smith) as England – 154-4 when Atherton was dismissed – subsided to 172 all out.

Then it was over to two other young Australians playing in their first Ashes series – batsmen Matthew Elliott and Ricky Ponting.

After Australia slipped to 50-4, both scored centuries to lead their team out of trouble and into a dominant position.

Elliott scored 199 and Ponting 127 (his first Test hundred), the pair adding 268 for the fifth-wicket against an England attack led by Gough and Headley.

After declaring on 501-9, Australia dismissed England for 268 as just Hussain (105) and Crawley (72) offered resistance.

Typically, it was events off-the field as much as those on it which dominated attention.

There were some rowdy crowd scenes in the days when no Headingley Test was complete without them.

“Once again, there was tension between the fierce Headingley stewards and the sometimes raucous spectators in the Western Terrace, especially those keen on the fashion for attending Tests in fancy dress,” reported Wisden.

“Two men dressed in a pantomime-cow costume cavorted round the boundary, and were crash-tackled by officials after play: the man playing the rear end, Branco Risek, needed treatment in hospital.

“Brian Cheesman, a university lecturer dressed as a carrot, was frog-marched from the ground for drunken and abusive behaviour.

“He vehemently denied the allegations. Mr Cheesman has been attending Headingley Tests in fancy dress since 1982.”

Australia won the fifth Test at Trent Bridge by 264 runs, Gillespie taking three second-innings wickets to help seal the game, but he did not feature in the final Test at the Oval, which England won by 19 runs.

Phil Tufnell took 11 wickets in that game as Australia failed in pursuit of 124 for victory.

“Australia’s collapse maintained their reputation for vulnerability in a run-chase, and for flunking the Tests that matter least,” declared Wisden.

“It was the third time in 1997 they had lost the last match of a series they had already won.”

However, the almanack added that “it did not much dent their reputation as one of the great Ashes teams”.